CREEPING LOOSESTRIFE.

Lysimachia; L. Lisimaque; Fr. Der gelbe weiderich; Ger. Weiderick; Dutch. Lisimachia; Ital. Lisimaquia; Sp. Lysimachia; Port. Werbuinik; Russ.

In shady woods how many flowers grow,
Hid from the eyes of unobservant men,
Who live and toil, and haply never know,
How many treasures lie within their ken.

Go to yon thicket; press through prickly weeds
Tall as yourself; press through nettles, briars,
Or aught which your exploring steps impedes;
Heed not scratches, stings, though patience triers,

Proceed, and now a rich reward you take;

There blooms the mullein with its yellow flower,
And the tall willow-herb, of crimson flake,
Which grows no fairer by the garden bower.

The yellow vetchling rolls its spiral threads,
As close with other plants it intertwines;
The bramble its pale pinky blossom spreads;
And the red fruit of spotted arum shines.

You'll find, perchance, a winter torrent's bed,
Of peaty earth, thickly with moss o'ergrown,
Scarce damp, dried up, by heavy rains unfed,
Plants rooted there, by water's absence shown.

Lo! in that shady spot are flowers of gold;
Are they the yellow Pimpernel of woods?

Ah! no; it is the plant well known of old,

As Creeping Loosestrife, loving banks of floods.

MS.

It was about the middle of August when we sallied forth for a country ramble, without designing to go in any particular direction, when our steps were led, first by

G

one incident and then another, to the skirts of a small wood of considerable age, and as it occurred to us that we might perhaps find within its shade the pretty yellow pimpernel, or wood loosestrife, we resolved to make the search. We soon made our way through a gap in the hedge, and at once found ourselves among a close mass of nettles and thistles, about six feet high, with a variety of other overgrown weeds and brambles, none of them the most agreeable things to come in close contact with; but the object we were in pursuit of was of sufficient importance to induce us to press onward, and by treading down the stems of these giant weeds, right and left, we contrived to progress slowly, and we found it expedient to do so, for the place was intersected with small ditches, which of course were hidden from our view by the excess of vegetation. Here we discovered a few flowers, but as the sun was retiring behind the western hills and twilight was at hand, we began to perceive that the exhalations from the immense mass of vegetation by which we were surrounded were particularly offensive, being prevented from rising by the superincumbeut stratum of the atmosphere, now becoming charged with moisture in consequence of its diminished temperature, and thus by its increased weight pressing downwards to the earth; immediately, therefore, we determined to hasten our steps, confining ourselves to the one purpose we had in entering the wood, and to search diligently for the yellow pimpernel. At length we came to a sort of ravine, the bed of which appeared to be a broad shallow ditch, which was now almost dry. Proceeding along this, we observed here and there a few yellow flowers, which were scarcely visible on account of the fading light; on plucking one

or two of these, we at first thought, with pleasure, that we had found the object of our search, but on closer examination we perceived that it was not the Wood Loosestrife, properly so called, but the Creeping Loosestrife; which is not considered quite so common as the former;

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose,

By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called:"

so says Shakspeare, and who dare dispute his dictum ? Now, the Creeping Loosestrife is as pretty a flower as that of the Yellow Wood Pimpernel; indeed, place the flowers alone side by side, and scarcely would a botanist discern the difference; yet the latter name is so much more euphonical than the former, that in the same degree we seem to like the flower more.

The Creeping Loosestrife, the flower inwoven in our group, inhabits wet shady pastures and banks, where it soon spreads, so as to cover the ground with a thick mat, formed of its prostrate stems and branches, both which are furnished with closely set roundish and somewhat heart-shaped leaves. The whole plant is smooth and shining, of a pale green; the stem is slender and angular, and upon it the leaves are placed opposite. The flowers, which are rather larger than those of the yellow pimpernel, are of a pale yellow, and rise singly on a footstalk from the axis of the leaves. The corolla consists of five acute egg-shaped petals, united at the base, where they scarcely form a tube.

The Creeping Loosestrife, or Moneywort (Lysimachia nummularia), belongs to the Linnæan class Pen

tandria, and order Monogynia; and to the Natural order Primulaceæ.

The Yellow Pimpernel, or Wood Loosestrife (L. nemorum) very closely resembles the above, and it will be sufficient for the purpose of distinguishing between them to say, that the leaves of this plant are egg-shaped, tapering to an acute angle at the extremity. Like the former, its flowers present a very gay appearance, and together with its smooth and shining leaves, render it a very desirable plant for moist and shady sides of plantations in pleasure grounds. The former prefers a greater amount of moisture, and may be planted with great advantage on the wet banks of ponds, streams, and artificial lakes.

THE FIELD LARKSPUR.

Delphinium; Tou. La dauphinelle; Fr. Der rittersporn; Ger. Ridderspoor; Dutch. Speronella; Ital. Espuela de caballero; Spanish. Esporeira; Port. Kawalerskoi spor; Russ. Ostrozka; Pol.

As late a summer's evening stroll I took,
Exploring every flowering bank and nook,
I wandered where the reapers just had cleared
A field of ripened wheat, in which appeared
A friend, who was its owner; so I went,
And through the stubble rambled; fully bent
On gleaning, not the scattered ears of corn,
But wild flowers by the sickle left unshorn.
Long time I walked about in vain pursuit ;-
Twilight was near, and all the birds were mute,
The gleaners home had gone, with well filled arms,
The clouds were slowly hiding nature's charms,
And I from the field my steps was bending,
With eyes still to their fixed object 'tending,
When lo! among the stubble I espied

A pretty flower, with petals purple-dyed;
I gathered one-'twas the Larkspur-and more
Were there; how strange I saw them not before!
I plucked a handful, of various hue,

Of red, pale pink, of white, and purple-blue.
How straight its slender downy stem! how light
The spreading calyx of the flower! how bright
The varied tints! how delicate the leaves !
How soft the woof whatever Nature weaves !

MS.

THE Field Larkspur, which differs in no respect from the annual which is commonly cultivated in the flower border, is by no means to be generally met with in a wild state throughout the kingdom. In such soil as it prefers, it is found in great abundance, as in the sandy and chalky fields of the counties of Kent, Suffolk, and